It is known that many electrical connectors employ pin and socket terminals. Typically a “male” terminal of a first electrical connector is inserted into a “female” terminal of a second electrical connector to interconnect different portions of a circuit or, in some cases, numerous circuits. One type of female terminal known in the art involves a generally-rectangular female socket disposed at a distal end for receiving a male terminal. Oftentimes the distal end of the female socket takes on the shape of an elongate member defined by a top wall, a bottom wall, and sidewalls that form a passageway for receiving the male terminal. Female terminals such as these are usually stamped and formed from sheet metal so that a slit may be incorporated into one or more of the walls that form the socket. The slits allow the walls of the socket to flex as the male terminal is inserted. Moreover, one type of male terminal known in the art involves a generally-rectangular pin that is capable of being inserted into the generally-rectangular socket of the female terminal.
One problem with conventional pin and socket terminals, however, is that they introduce a sizeable voltage drop. In essence, as electric current moves through the pin and socket terminals of the electrical connectors, supplied energy is dissipated and throughput is reduced. This dissipation of energy is undesirable in virtually all circumstances.
Recent designs have attempted to improve on other aspects of pin and socket terminals rather than voltage drops. For instance, electrical connectors are oftentimes connected or disconnected while electrical power is present at the terminals. When such “hot” electrical connectors are just a short distance from one another, electrical arcs are generated from current passing through the terminals. In this state, electrons “jump” across the gap from one connector to the other. Electrical arcs are undesirable because they can cause the terminals to corrode, as well as cause build-up of non-conductive and/or poorly conducting residues. The corrosion and/or build-up interfere with the quality of the electrical contact between the terminals in subsequent connections. Nonetheless, one recent design attempts to minimize the impact of such electrical arcs by supplementing two primary contacts on a female terminal with two “sacrificial” or “arc-discharging” contacts such that there is one contact on all four sides of the socket. Yet this design generally fails to alleviate the impact of the voltage drop across the electrical connectors because the ability of the two sacrificial contacts to conduct is quickly diminished, and these two additional points of contact do not meaningfully aid the conductivity of the interconnected electrical connectors.
Thus, a long-felt need exists for terminals that considerably reduce the voltage drop experienced across a pair of interconnected electrical connectors.